Albert s



A. S. PEOK.

(No Model.)

WNDLASS.

No. 440,279. Patented Nov. 11, 1890.

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l i UNITED TATns ATENT li'rricn..

ALBERT S. PEOK, OF GENEVA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SETI'I E.PECK, OF SAME PLACE.

WINDLASS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,279, datedNovemberI 11, 1890. Application iiled April 15, 1890. Serial No.348.006. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALBERT S. PECK, of

Geneva, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in VVindlasses; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to the barrels or drums of windlasses for hoistingor coiling purposes generally; and the object of my invention is toprovide a barrel or drum which shall auto- Inatically vary its length toaccord with the number of coils of rope or cable which may be wound uponor unwound from said barrel or drum, thus insuring a regular and uniformwinding of the rope or strand, and at the same time great-ly simplifyingthe construction 'of the winding apparatus or windlass as a whole.

To this end my invention consists in certain Apeculiar and novelfeatures of construction and arrangement, as herein illustrated anddescribed, and more lfully pointed out in the appended claim.

In the illustrations of the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of awindlass for straightening wire constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig.1, showingthe pawl-and-ratchet attachments to the barrel or drum.

In all kinds of hoisting and windin g or coiling apparatus employingdrums or barrels to receive and deliver the rope or other strand thedrums or barrels, so far as I am aware, have been of predetermined andlixed lengths, and the rope or strand has been coiled longitudinallyupon the drum until the entire available length of the drum becomescovered by the coils, and then the coiling continues in one or morelayers, overlayin g that part of the rope or strand first wound uponsaid drum or barrel. This necessitates a constant change in the positionof the incoming or outgoing strand and its load, and also causes acontinual changing of the working-strain upon the supports andframe-work of the windlass, as well as a constant chaing of the coilsagainst and upon each other. Hence the windlass has to be made veryheavy in order therewith.

to last for any considerable time, and therope or strand is rapidly wornout or quickly rendered imperfect. It will be seen from the ensuingdescription that I have devised means whereby in windlasses generallythe position of the incoming or outgoing strand remains fixed, relativeto the frame-work of the machine, so that the Working-strain is renderedconstant in direction, thus permitting a much 6o lighter frame-work thanwould heretofore be serviceable and avoiding all chaing and wear in thecoils.

Referring now to Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, my invention will befirst described as applied to windlasses for straightening fencewires,such being one of the uses to which the invention may be put. In thesaid figures, A designates the supporting bar or frame of the windlass,and Adesignates an L-shaped arm, 7o which branches off laterally fromthe bar A. The outer end of said arm A is provided with a sleeve orbearing a', the axis of which is at right angles to the length of thebar A. Upon said bar A, at a point directly opposite 7 5 the sleeve a',is a sleeve or bearing a, similar to the sleeve a', and in true axialalignment These sleeves a a form the bearings for the barrel or drum B,which in, the present instance is shown as of elongated cyl- So indricalform, extending transversely of the bar A and through t-he sleeves orbearings a a. Said drum B turns 'freely in said bearings a a', and ispermitted to move longitudinally therethrough, as will be hereinafter 85 more fully explained. Upon the extremity of the bar A, adjacent to thebearing or sleeve a, and in extenuation of the bar A, isasleeve a2 theaxis of which extends parallel with the bar A and at right angles t0 theaxis of bear- 9o ings a ci.

C designates a rope, one end of which is suitably attached to the outerend of the barrel B. Said rope is shown as coiled longitudinally aroundsaid barrel, with its free end or 9 5 strand passing through the sleevea2.

It will be evident that the barrel B being movable lengthwise throughits bearings a a', by pulling upon the free end of the rope C the barrelwill be revolved axially in its ioo bearings, and will at the same timebe drawn longitudinally through said bearings toward the positionindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. l, the sleeve a2 serving as thefulcrumpoint from which the rope as it uneoils draws the barrel Bendwise, as stated. It will also be evident that when the barrel isturned so as to wind or coil the rope upon it the longitudinal pressureof the successive coils against the outer side of the bar A at @c willmove said barrel endwise toward the right. Thus the tensionalworking-strain is maintained constantly at the sleeve a2, and comesalways endwise upon the frame-bar A, so that said bar is effectivelystrong for its purpose, although of the light construction shown. Insaid Fig. 1 I have shown a simple crank-handle D, secured upon one endof the barrel B, as the means for turning said barrel to wind .or coilthe rope C thereon, and I have also ,provided a pawl-and-ratchetattachment for preventing the rope from unwinding Ifrom the barrel atthe wrong time. E designates a ratchet-wheel, which is splined upon thebarrel B between the bearings or sleeves a a', the barrel having alongitudinal seat or groove b to receive the spline e, so as to causethe ratchet-Wheel to turn with the barrel and at the same time to permitsaid barrel to move lengthwise through the ratchet-wheel.

E designates a pawl, which is pivoted upon the arm A and which isprovided with a coiled spring e', the pressure of which serves to keepthe point of the pawl in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet-WheelE. A .thumb-piece c2 is formed upon the pawl E', so that by pressingupon the thumb-piece the pawl may be lifted out of engagement with theratchet-wheel E when the rope C is being uncoiled from the barrel B.Upon the end of the bar A, opposite from the sleeve a2, is pivoted aT-piece A2, one arm of which is formed with an eye a3 and the oppositearm of `which constitutes a hook a4, as shown. One end of a chain F issecured in the eye a3 of the T-piece and the hook a4 is inserted into alink at the opposite end of the chain, the latter being passed around astake or other support adapted to take the strain off wire to bestraightened.

To the free end of the rope C is at-tached the usual wire-grippingdevice, consisting of the frame II, a lever h eccentrically pivotedthereto and bearing at its inner end against a shoulder h on the frameH.

The operation of this wire-straightening windlass embodying my inventionis too obvious to require further detailed description.

It is manifest that in this construction the load to be raised alwaysexerts its strain on exactly the saine place on the frame, and that thisstrain comes in line with the support of the frame, by reason of which Iam enabled to construct said frame much lighter than would otherwise berequired, and at the same time produce a device more easily Worked.

It is obvious that the longitudinally-movable barrel may be effectivelyapplied to various other forms of windlasses, and that in any event itgreatly improves and simpliies the windlass as a whole and renders thesame much more durable than it would otherwise be.

It will be observed that the center of the pivot a5, which unites theT-piece A2 to the bar A, is not in line with the bearing-surface of facebut is slightly forward thereofthat is to say, said surface is at alltimes nearer to the handle D than it is to a line drawn vertically fromthe center of such pivot a5. By this construction I am enabled toentirely dispense with the sleeve or guide a2.

It is manifest that by reason of the pivotal connect-ion aforesaidadownward tension upon the rope C would have a tendency to cause theouter end of the barrel B, on which the rope C is Wound, to moveslightly downward or away from the said pivot and thus strain the parts.Moreover, if the outer end of the barrel B be thus depressed from thehorizontal, the rope C would not tend at all times to bear against thesurface 0e. Now, by pivoting the bar A slightly tothe rear of the lineof direction of said downward strain of the rope C, the tendency will bejust the reverse of that described-to wir, to cause the outer end ofsaid bar B to assume the horizontal or an upward position until thepoint of the strain and the point of support are practically in line,when of course the rope G will crowd in and down against the face m.

I claim as my invention- In awindlass, the combination, with abearing-frame, of a winding drum or barrel of uniform diameterthroughout its length, said drum being supported in suitable bearings insaid frame and being also provided with a slot or groove throughout itslength, and a ratchet-wheel mounted upon said drum and engaged with saidlongitudinal slot or groove by means of a spline or key, saidratchetwheel being supported against lateral movement by saidbearing-frame, whereby the rope may be wound upon practically the entirelength of the drum, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two Witnesses.

ALBERT S. PECK.

Vitnessess:

C. CLARENCE POOLE, GEORGE W. HIGGINS, J r.

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